


Keep the Change

by randomwriter57



Series: Reigisa Week 2017 [5]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Books, Happy Ending, M/M, i honestly don't know how to tag this one, not exactly meet-cute but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 16:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9393071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomwriter57/pseuds/randomwriter57
Summary: Working in a bookshop is a life which tends to involve few changes. Any changes that happen can be dealt with. Then he can return to the comforts of the life he knows.When Hazuki Nagisa comes into the shop for the first time, it’s a change which Rei doesn’t know how to deal with.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Reigisa Week 2017](http://reigisaweek.tumblr.com), Day Five: Change.

Working in a bookshop is a life which tends to involve few changes. The hours are the same all week, except for Sundays and holidays, on which the shop is closed. The stock grows, but is never swapped completely. Every book has its place in a section which doesn’t move. And, invariably, the place smells of dust and wood polish and _books_ , no matter how much his manager tries to ‘spruce it up’ with various scented air fresheners.

It’s the unchanging nature of the job which keeps Rei in love with it even after the initial honeymoon phase of being surrounded by books six days a week for nine hours fades to the back of the shelves. Unlike his more ambitious friends, he’s always found that a consistent lifestyle is best for him. That isn’t to say he enjoys _monotony_ , of course. As long as the work is interesting to him, it doesn’t matter if it’s the same work every day. If it was dull, he’d have left a long time ago.

Sometimes, however, a change will occur. Like when his first manager left after receiving a job offer which actually required her university degree and payed better, to boot. Or when they spent a whole week rearranging the shop to add in some new shelves. Those times, the changes can be dealt with. Then he can return to the comforts of the life he knows.

When Hazuki Nagisa comes into the shop for the first time, it’s a change which Rei doesn’t know how to deal with.

Not that he suspects anything, on that first day. In fact, nothing out of the ordinary happens at all, that day. The blond boy spends a while browsing the non-fiction shelves before moving to the comic books. After a while, he comes up to the counter and pays. He doesn’t have a shop points card, but yes, he’ll have one, please. Rei registers him on the system and rings up his books. One is a generic romance novel - _'Say You Want Me'_   - and the other a religious fiction book called  _'I'm Asking You Nicely'_. Together with a generic superhero comic, it's a somewhat odd mixture.

Rei bags the books. Tells Nagisa to have a nice day. Mentally notes that this boy’s smile is nice. Nagisa leaves, and Rei doesn’t expect to see him again, not for a while, anyway.

But Nagisa returns sooner than he expects. Only two days later, the boy drags a brown-haired man who looks to be twice his height into the shop. (Looking again, Rei knows the man is not quite twice Nagisa’s height. Still, he’s much taller, and when they stand side-by-side in front of a bookshelf, Rei can’t help but notice the difference in their shoulder widths.) After noting their presence, Rei tries not to pay them much thought.

Only moments later, he finds that he can’t focus on checking off the newest delivery of books. He keeps losing count, even though books should be pretty easy to count. He looks up and sees the cause of his distraction has taken his taller companion to another shelf and is pointing out some books on the top. Rei clicks his tongue softly and lowers his head again.

_Focus, Ryugazaki._

But he can’t. Every moment that the blond is in the shop, Rei finds his mind wandering, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. In the end, he gives up on checking off the order, too frustrated to think about the numbers. He settles for reading the blurbs of the books, all of which are new, though he doesn’t recognise the authors.

“Excuse me!”

Rei looks up. The blond boy is in front of the counter, his smile broad.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, my friend was wondering where you keep your classic literature,” Nagisa says, looking over to his friend, who is still lurking by the _Non-Fiction - Cookery_ section. “You know, like Shakespeare and stuff.”

“Which book are you looking for?” Rei asks, directing his question at the ‘friend’.

The friend startles at the attention. “A-ah, it’s _Frankenstein_ …”

“Shelley, then.” Rei moves from behind the counter, heading towards the right section of the store. “If you’ll just follow me.”

He doesn’t need to tell them. Nagisa is already bouncing on his heels, with his friend trailing behind him. In a moment, they reach the right shelves, and Rei pulls out the latest edition of the book.

“This is the edition with Shelley’s 1831 edits.” Rei hands the books to the friend, who blanches at the cover. Part of him is amused at the fact that this man is so frightened by a book, of all things. One that isn’t too scary, too. “Is there anything else you need?”

“N-no, that’s everything, thanks.”

“Wait, I’m gonna look at the comics. You go pay for that now, Mako-chan.” Nagisa thanks Rei before rushing off to the comics section, leaving him alone with ‘Mako-chan’.

Rei leads ‘Mako-chan’ back to the counter and scans his book into the till.

“Sorry about my friend,” ‘Mako-chan’ says, pulling out his wallet. “He’s a little boisterous.”

“It’s fine,” Rei says, as much as he would like to agree with ‘Mako-chan’. From what he can tell, at least, Nagisa is quite an energetic person, though he was more reserved when he was alone. “That’s 850 yen, please.”

The man hands over a note. Rei puts it through the till and hands his change back as Nagisa returns, a couple of comics and one book in his hands.

“Just these ones, please!” Nagisa says, pushing them towards Rei.

Rei scans them through, trying not to let his surprise show when the book is _'Never Let Me Go'_. Not the kind of book he would have pegged Nagisa to enjoy, but considering his past purchases, he seems to have an erratic taste in literature. Rei puts the transaction through and passes Nagisa’s bag to him without comment. “Thank you for your purchase.”

“Have a good day, Rei-chan!” Nagisa says, pausing to look at Rei’s name badge.

Before Rei can sputter a reply, Nagisa and his friend disappear, leaving him to fume over a perfect stranger calling him by his forename - and in such an informal manner, too!

Even that day isn’t the end of Hazuki Nagisa. He returns to the shop a few times in the next couple of weeks, sometimes with his friend but usually alone. Rei isn’t always in when Nagisa visits, of course, but his colleague doesn’t hesitate to tell him every detail of how dejected the boy looked when he got to the counter and found that his cashier wasn’t ‘Rei-chan’, but a red-haired, pointy-toothed man called Rin.

Rei tries not to think much of Nagisa. He has a job to do, one which shouldn’t need to change to accommodate a regular customer. But he can’t help, whenever Nagisa visits the shop, but to let his mind wander for a while. He learns by the third visit that there’s no point in doing a task which requires focus when Nagisa is there. There’s no chance of him being able to think properly, after all.

When a whole month passes with Nagisa as a regular customer, Rei forces himself to admit that part of him actually looks forward to his visits. Some weeks, Nagisa will visit almost every day, whereas others, he’ll only come in once, if at all. On those weeks, Rei finds himself the most distracted, particularly towards the end of the week when all he can think about is whether he’ll see a certain head of blond hair that day.

Eventually, he decides enough is enough. If he’s this interested in Nagisa, then there’s no point in letting their relationship culminate in only a few exchanges over the counter. He might as well make some effort to see him outside of work. Judging by Nagisa’s interactions with him, it seems like he might be interested too. And if he isn’t, then at least Rei will have made an effort, right?

It isn’t as simple as he would like it to be, to carry out his plan. Mostly because he’s nervous, and because Nagisa doesn’t show up for a few days. He has everything prepared, but he can’t do anything if the blond isn’t in the shop. This means he spends a few shifts stewing quietly, unable to focus well on his tasks. Luckily his co-workers seem to understand what’s up, and aside from some innocent teasing, they leave him be.

Then, finally, when Rei’s about to lose all hope, Nagisa returns. The bell above the door chimes as usual, and instinctively Rei looks up from his work to see who it is. He meets burgundy eyes, which brighten.

“Hi!” Nagisa says with a breathtaking smile. Like, literally breathtaking. Rei barely manages to reply with a quiet ‘hello’ because he isn’t sure if he can breathe.

He watches the blond head over to the non-fiction shelves before ducking his head back down. He can’t just stare at him! Not only would that be rude, but he needs to at least try to look busy. Even if he doesn’t actually finish the task at hand, at least he’ll look like he’s doing work and he won’t be fired. (Hopefully. Though he’s been lucky so far.)

Ten excruciating minutes of refraining from looking up pass before he hears the soft _thud_ of a book on the counter. He finally looks up.

“Just this one, please,” Nagisa says, pushing the book towards him.

As he picks it up to scan it, the title catches Rei’s eye. Somehow, it’s more eye-catching than the flashy, cliched romance novel cover.

_‘Don’t Hold Back Your Love.’_

Usually, Rei wouldn’t pay it much notice, but today it feels like a sign. He scans the book into the register and asks for Nagisa’s points card, then tells him the price. Instead of paying by card like Rei hoped he would, so Rei could carry out his plan without him noticing, he pulls out some bank notes and hands them over. Still, he has a chance. After putting the notes in the till, he tears the receipt and places it inside the book, alongside a sticky note which has been sitting on his desk for days, now. He then closes the book and slides it across the counter, his hand heading back to the till to find the correct change.

But before Rei can hand it to Nagisa, the blond picks up his book and winks at Rei. “Keep the change.”

He’s gone before Rei can protest, the bells ringing even after the change falls back into the cash drawer.

(Not that Rei wants to protest, after he gets a text from an unknown number, containing only a picture of a few books, arranged into a question.

_‘Coffee.’_

_‘By Your Side.’_

_‘Tomorrow.’_

There’s a question mark made from paper beside the last book, as well as a leaflet for a local coffee shop.

It's only now that Rei remembers the names of the books Nagisa has bought before. Maybe, all this time, Nagisa has been trying to get his attention, too, in a way too subtle for Rei to notice. Now that he knows this, though, he knows how to answer, too.

He searches the shelves during his break and snaps a photo in reply, the cover of a single book in the centre.

_‘Yes Please.’_ )

**Author's Note:**

> Most of the books mentioned are real books ~~that I spent far too long looking for on goodreads when researching for this fic~~ :  
> [Say You Want Me](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30326632-say-you-want-me?ac=1&from_search=true) \- Corinne Michaels  
> [I'm Asking You Nicely](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/823490.I_m_Asking_You_Nicely?ac=1&from_search=true) \- Greg Watts  
> [Frankenstein](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18490.Frankenstein?ac=1&from_search=true) \- Mary Shelley  
> [Never Let Me Go](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go?ac=1&from_search=true) \- Kazuo Ishiguro (though there are many others with the same title, this is the one i thought of immediately)  
> [By Your Side](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=by+your+side) \- (there are many books with this title on goodreads, take your pick)  
> [Yes Please](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20910157-yes-please?ac=1&from_search=true) \- Amy Poehler (literally the only one I could find that would work, honestly, i don't know why nagisa has it maybe he's read it though)
> 
> (The fake ones were _'Don't Hold Back Your Love'_ [I got it from a generator], _'Tomorrow'_ [it's generic enough I guess] and _'Coffee'_ [because any book about coffee could just be called COFFEE with a subtitle, right?])
> 
>  
> 
> Follow me at [randomactuallywrites-57](http://randomactuallywrites-57.tumblr.com) on tumblr | [@randomwriter57](http://twitter.com/randomwriter57) on twitter!


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